Department of Public Safety
Remembering Captain Thomas Targee
Firefighter killed during the Great Fire of 1849
This article is 13 years old. It was published on January 1, 2012.
Members of the Targee Family, descendents of Capt. Thomas Targee, a St. Louis firefighter who was killed in the line of duty during the Great Fire of 1849, visited Fire HQ last month and presented the Department with photos of Targee to be added to a display in his honor.
During the Great Fire of 1849, more than 20 riverboats and 430 buildings were destroyed.
Targee was killed near where the Gateway Arch now stands while detonating an explosive device to create a fire break and prevent additional buildings from catching fire. The device exploded prematurely, killing the 41-year-old.
As part of the visit by the Targee Family, the existing display in Targee's honor was rededicated and the Department added to the display a light salvaged from a fire boat named in Targee's honor.
Dept. of Public Safety City of St. Louis
-
Department:
Department of Public Safety
-
Topic:
Employees
Fire Departments
Most Read News
- Mayor Cara Spencer Takes Office as the 48th Mayor of St. Louis She emphasized that better days are ahead for St. Louis and pledges to work collaboratively with all stakeholders
- CDA Announces more than $16 Million Available in 2025 Neighborhood Transformation Grants Funding includes CDBG, HOME, HOME-ARP, PRO Housing, and Economic Development Sales Tax investments to support affordable housing production, neighborhood plan implementation, and community green activation of vacant lots.
- New Data Show St. Louis City Continues To See Decrease in Homicides and Other Crime Newly released crime data for August 2024 shows that the City of St. Louis continues to successfully decrease the amount of crime, including homicides, occurring in the City.